Color bars

We're getting close to sending files for the new issue. I swear. Yesterday, I calibrated our printer in preparation of proof making. We print out rows of color, scan them, and then repeat the process to adjust the ink nozzles and insure a properly colored proof.

From The Jam

Family matters pried me away from lockdown on Saturday, and afterwards my brother and I went to see Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler playing with their current group, From The Jam. We were a little gun-shy about the band playing without ex-front-man/principal songwriter Paul Weller, but it wound up being a great show.

The duo promised to play all The Jam's hits that Weller does not play in his solo shows, and they delivered. Opening with "In The City," they played all the songs with the original energy, crispness, and fervor: "A Bomb in Wardour Street," "All Mod Cons," "Going Underground," "Down in a Tube Station at Midnight," and everything else. Of course, "Smithers-Jones" sounded great. (The guys have indeed aged, but they looked sharp in their suits.)

Russell Hasting did a capable job of handling vocals and, for once, I didn't mind hearing the crowd sing along to every song. That's what he was doing! Big Dave Moore was quite good with the extra axe and keyboards, but the songs were kept in stripped-down, raw mode, with very little organ, string, or other sounds, even in songs like "Town Called Malice."

There aren't too many bands that can play a show where I know every single lyric. Maybe it's because I was in high school when I got into The Jam? Maybe it's because they're just great songs? (I can't imagine Mick Talbot making a From The Style Council band...) I've got to consult Pryor and Tom about this.

If you are even remotely into The Jam, you've got to catch this tour.

A love, lost

Giant Robot 52 is coming along well. Today I printed out edited pages and put them in a 3-ring binder. It's kind of like our low-budget version of "the book" in The Devil Wears Prada. I enjoy seeing the mag evolve from loose documents and images to paper-clipped drafts to this state. I feel like we're finally getting somewhere.

One thing you won't find in the book is an interview with the guy pictured above, director KT Kwak. When Wendy and I were stuck in Hawaii for an extra night (boo hoo), I got on the list to interview him. They were only giving out 10-minute chunks of time, so I asked if it would be okay if we just took photos and then did the interview via email or telephone after I watched the international premiere of his movie, A Love. I figured the interview could be more extensive that way, and I'd be able to ask him about his newest work. He said sure, and gave me his card.

I got some pretty good portraits and came up with a bunch of questions, but he never answered my queries! Oh well, no one will know what they're missing. Wait–now they do!

We're not worthy

Sorry for the lag in blogging. We've been in mag deadlines, so I haven't been getting out much or doing anything worth sharing.

But the nice thing is that while we're locked up in the garage, we've had tons of help from our friends who come in to help scan images, fact check, copy edit, proofread, and feed us. Wha? Today, ace reader Shelly came in with hand-made edamame rice balls.

Hey, we're not total leeches. Today I brought a jug of water to share, as well as a bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms!

The jackpot

It means a lot to us that we can rely on friends to copy edit, proofread, and fact-check our articles. We don't pay, but we are very grateful and try to provide snacks, too. But what's up with our newest friend, Aimee? Not only did the Lakewood resident drive up to contribute her professional editorial skills, but she also brought a 12-pack of Beard Papa cream puffs. To paraphrase MJ: "Face it, Tiger. We hit the jackpot!"

10 or 15 minutes ago at GR2

Just left the opening of GR2's group show with kozyndan, Robert Bellm, and PCP. I'm sure Eric will post a full-on report in a day or so, but here are some quickies.

Daedalus and Dan, neither one afraid to dress up for a special occasion.

Reunited Art Center classmates Robert Bellm and Saelee Oh. Sorry it's blurry. Action shot.


Who brought the bunnyfish cookies? Go now and there might be some left!

Courtship of Eddie's friends

Pure Rock DJ Will gave us a heads-up on this. If you're a die-hard Maiden fan who is attending one or more concerts on the first leg of the upcoming tour (February 1 to March 16, 2008) and are willing to be interviewed on camera about your passion for all things Maiden, send an email to maiden[at]metalhistory.com. They're making a documentary about the band and the tour.

Here's what they want to know:

IRON MAIDEN ULTIMATE FAN SURVEY

Name:
Cities/dates you will seeing Maiden on this tour:
Age:
Gender:
Place of Birth (City/Country):
Place of Residence (City/Country):
Occupation:

Have you seen Iron Maiden in concert before?
If yes, how many times and on which tours?

1. How did you first discover Iron Maiden?
2. Why do you love Iron Maiden?
3. If you've seen Maiden in concert before, describe to us the first or best experience seeing them live.
4. If you haven't seen Maiden before, why are you excited to see the band on this
Somewhere Back in Time tour?
5. Tell us something interesting about yourself that has nothing to do with Iron Maiden!

Don't forget: please attach a photo.

Living long and prospering

Star Trek: The Tour kicks off at the Queen Mary in Long Beach on Friday, January 18. For a mere 35 bucks, you can sit on the captain's chair from the original series. (To leave a captain's log, you'll have to visit the restroom.) The traveling show is reported to be the largest collection of sets, props, models, rides, and gift shops related to each of the sci-fi series' incarnations.

True fans should check out the VIP experiences. 7 of 9 is probably too afraid of the Trekkies to attend the celebrity party, but maybe Whoopi will serve drinks!

Fight-the-power power

This afternoon, I finally broke into the pack of Zapatista coffee beans that I scored at the GR New Year's Potluck gift exchange. It's an all-organic, fair-trade blend grown by co-ops in Chiapas. Thanks to whomever brought it!


Pretty good stuff. I wish it were a little stronger, but that could be my fault. I've never had to grind my own beans and probably should have made it finer. Still, I'm feeling wired and fortified to continue GR's fight against mainstream gringo culture.

Is it still righteous if I add condensed milk? What if it isn't Carnation?

Prodip is right

Reports on yesterday's UFO sighting in Stephenville, TX...

ABC News

The Washington Post

Associated Press

Cool, but shouldn't at least one person have had a camera phone?

More JANM talk pics

Eric already blogged about the artists' talk that took place at JANM on Saturday--the last weekend of GR's Biennale show. But I don't think he was in a spot to take pics of the stage and perhaps the MOCA show overshadowed it, so I'm finally posting some of my pics now.


It was really cool to see and hear Pryor, Souther, and Seonna get props and field questions about their work. Souther actually asked Seonna some questions and then started to deconstruct Giant Robot. I guess he was pretty comfortable up there!


I missed the intro, but Clement's closing remarks were intense. I think there was something in there about about snacks. Those fudge-like things were quite good.


It'll be sad to drive by JANM and not see the GR banner anymore. I wonder what's going to happen to it? Eco-messenger bags?


Light coming from the front and back. Intense!

Help!

This weekend I attended a CPR class. In addition to CPR, we learned a bunch stuff, like how to handle burns, treat someone who's chocking, handle an amputation, and give mouth to mouth. When you practice the latter on a dummy, they give you these shields. This one was mine. Please don't try to psychoanalyze how I marked it. The class took a couple hours on a Saturday night, but I think everyone should do it. You never know when you can really help someone--maybe someone close to you or a baby.

Speaking of help, it's time for friends of GR to volunteer fact-checking, copy-editing, and proofreading skills. If you have time and live in L.A., send me an email at martin[at]giantrobot.com. As usual, we don't pay but we need and appreciate your help. We also have a lot of munchies in the office.

Happy birthday, Lucia!

Party on, Bill. Party on, Ted. Lucia turned one today. She shares her date of birth as another beloved Los Angeleno, Laker Ronny Turiaf. Excellent!

Prodig

Packages from Hong Kong are always awesome, especially when the return address is Prodip and Amy's house.


Prodip sent us a box of Michael Lau's latest figures--who happen to named Prodig! Hm, that name sounds familiar. Check out this Young Prodig's cap. It refers to Prodip's UFO documentary, which is finally completed.


His counterpart is "not young" Prodig. Is his hair bleached now? I haven't seen him in a while. These figures are the next best thing.


These are slightly smaller versions. Perhaps the LMF-era figure could be called "younger" Prodig.


Finally, a new version of the Project After Dark alien. A crafty-looking figure for those who are over grays.


As a bonus, Prodip sent some loot from the Terry Richardson x Michael Lau show in Hong Kong. There's a book and T-shirt.


The book is an A-to-Z, like a kids' book but a little dirty like Terry's photography. Check out the Yashica T-4 page!

My toys are not on Ebay. Thanks, Prodip, Amy, and Michael!

LA Mill Coffee

The new coffee place in Silver Lake opened last week. It's right across from the 7-Eleven and Spaceland, and since the doors opened on Thursday for the owner's birthday, it'be been packed with java junkies.


As soon as you walk in--or even as you drive by--you can tell it ain't Dunkin' Donuts. Check out the architecture and the brewing machines. The very small cup of coffee is strong and good--slightly nutty--but it's more of a special occassion quaff than a morning pick-up.


The desserts are purported to be Michelin quality. We were too early for that, so we had an orange and cranberry scone. It had nice, crip edges and tasty, fresh insides. Our two items cost more than eight bucks. Whoa! (They were out of menus by the time we got there on Saturday morning, but we overheard that a sandwhich cost 14 bucks.)


Not sure what niche this place will fill. I don't think the neighborhood has the demographics to support Urth Café prices, but I'm thinking it might be a nice place to get coffee and dessert after dinner on a special occasion. Are there enough special occasions to go around?

On a side note, the long-standing Michelango's and the well-loved Backdoor Café are losing their leases. The New Netty's has been in limbo for a few months now, too. With the other eateries out of the picture, LA Mill's entry to the neighborhood is a little more interesting.

To be continued...

Super friends

On Wednesday, we got to the Troubadour just in time to see Ray Barbee and the Mattson 2. I hadn't see Ray play for a while, definitely not since he started playing with the Mattson twins. The sound is frantic and heavy--not even close to the mellower, surfy jazz that Ray played at my wedding two summers ago. Intense and awesome. The one-time Bones Brigade skater told me that when the band heard the acoustics during sound check, they realized it was best suite for them to go for it and "just charge."

This is the album the new combo put out in Europe. It costs something like 30 or 40 bucks, and hopefully someone will release it domestically. Perhaps Brushfire. Until then, you can get his domestic stuff. It's soooo good. Next up: an action-sports trade show in Florida and NAMM in Anaheim. When are his WeSC headphones coming out?


The headliner was Money Mark. We bumped into him at the club's entrance and talked for a little bit. He was excited about fresh starts: new manager, new music... Everything was good. That's how it always seems to be when I see Mark. Funny thing is that the show started like it was his Keyboard Repair days. He came out blowing that kazoo-type thing before sitting behind the drums and becoming a one-man band. Then the group came out and the set transitioned to the melodic, beautiful, and mostly sad songs that he's become so good at writing and playing. I think the evening was slightly more rocked out than the last time I saw him, with rawer guitar and extra rave-ups. Maybe it just seemed that way without the female backups. Seeing Money Mark is always empowering; he's not a rock star in any way, just an incredibly talented and humble guy sharing good music about bad times.

It's good to get out. We saw our friends Tom and Trish. Also spotted skate dudes Atiba and Ako Jefferson, who I posted in the Naked Raygun blog. This time, no cameras. I'm sure there were other skate and music folks hiding in the darkness, but we split right away.


We were stoked that Olene and Robocon were able to battle through jetlag and attend the show with us. The newlyweds were incredibly beat, but I'm pretty sure they were glad to be there, too.

Dig me out

Giant Robot's Fall/Winter softball season started with great promise. After finishing in first place in our previous campaign, we had been promoted from the lowest level of Parks & Rec ball to the middle ranks. Our first game was a commanding victory. But after that, inconsistent hitting and defensive lapses were our downfall. We lost the next 11 straight, including last night's game.


But that's not to say the season wasn't fun. Our last game was hard fought, and it felt a lot closer than the final score would suggest. (Our opponents getting 7 or so insurance runs--many with 2 outs--didn't help.) But I had one of my better hitting nights, going 3 of 4 with 2 runs and a bunch of RBIs. I also struck out a couple big frat guys, which is always satisfying. There's nothing like seeing dudes screw themselves into the ground and then hearing the ball hit the plate with a sick thud.


In case you don't have a scorecard, here's a rundown of the team and the positions they played last night, from left to right: me (P), Bill (C), Chi (RF), Sean (2B), BK (CLF), Eric (LF), Jason (1B), and Mikey (CRF). By the time the team pics were taken, Hap (SS) and Will (3B) already took off. But check out the display of GR gear! I've got the old-school Brian Ralph "New Legend Monkey" hoody, BK and Eric are wearing different generations of ninja hoodies, and Jason has the metal/Zaxxon logo. It looks like we Mikey could use some gear...


Eric just posted a picture of people smiling in the dugout. This wasn't the shot, but you can see him using his new toy. Me? I'm always grateful to be a Ricoh GR owner in night settings.


After the game, we went to Norm's. I'll write something about BK in the next paragraph, but check out Chi sitting next to his fiancée Jenny. The outfielder has not one but two nicknames: Ultraman and Chi Magic. Damn. You know he plays hard. I think he got from first to third on a few of my hits. On the right is Eric. His opposite-field hitting has always been accurate and consistent; now he's adding power the mix. The first baseman robbed him of a hit but probably got pushed back a couple inches by the force of the line drive.


Brian had subbed for the team a couple times and was prepared to play, but we had enough players so he provided moral support. (He'll also be helping with the mag over the next couple weeks.) Next to him is Mikey. I don't know how many times he limped off the field in pain this season. But he played on and helped the team compete every night, and is probably our winter ball MVP. At the far end of the table is my cousin Ant, a GR softball alum. He just moved back from the Bay Area to L.A. will be a sub next season. On the right is BK, who kept getting walked on bad pitches last night. When he was finally on the receiving end of a decent toss, BK went yard with a two-out solo homer.


On the left, Bill has had a couple nicknames, too. In the beginning, he was "Bill Bear," which hardcore GR readers already know. On the field, he became "X Factor" because our opponents always underestimated his heart and skills. Last night, he switched from his usual position at 2B to catch since our backstop, Greg, couldn't make it. It reminded me of the early seasons when Bill and I split pitching duties, and would sometimes catch for one another. Ah, memories. Jason is on the right. As a first baseman, the other team doesn't expect him to be fast. Last night, he actually ran out of one of his cleats! He brought his game to the field, and he brought a lady friend, too.


It's sad to see another season end, and I'll miss playing with the guys during the break. It's even more difficult since I'll miss the opening of the season in April. Who's coming back? Who's going to pitch? Who will assume the captain position? Will Brian get the call up? Time will tell.

Giant nets

Here we are again: deadline time. Each day I'm working on a new article--transcribing, writing, and editing, and at the same time I'm bugging contributors, tracking down photos, and divvying up review stuff. It's like I have 8 or 9 nets out all the time, and by the end of the day, my mind is spinning. But I feel like there's one good catch every day.

To unwind, I've been watching a movie every night on the laptop. (Shit, I accidentally bought a Thai movie that wasn't subtitled!) Just one more to go, and then it's time for anime. When do I get to music? Now that transcribing is over, I have review CDs playing in the background while I work. I'll get a general idea of which ones make the cut and then listen to them on headphones when it's time to write the reviews.

Sounds pretty good, right? Mix in tonight's softball game, a GR function at JANM, and other random stuff, and I almost have a life worth blogging about. Too bad all the details are reserved for the magazine.

Money Mark and Ray Barbee tonight!

I thought the Damon & Naomi and Boris tour was a good match of GR bands. Here's another one, even if it's probably for just one night. Money Mark and Ray Barbee are playing The Troubadour in L.A. tonight. It's a perfect fit because they're two of the most humble, warm, friendly, and talented guys you'll ever meet.


Mark's music has grown way beyond his Keyboard Repair days, and it's funky, soulful, and sweet. Sad, too. Ray has been playing with the Mattson twins. I'll miss Happy, Ben, and the crew, but look forward to hearing the pro skater's new indie-jazz stylings--if my visiting friends from Hawaii can handle a show. They took a red-eye flight and might not be able to hang. (What's your excuse?)

GR post-holiday potluck

No, your eyes didn't deceive you last night. And there wasn't a break-in, either. The lights were on at gr/eats (usually closed on Sundays) for the special occasion of GR's post-holiday potluck.


At first, we thought it might be just four or five of us from the mag and store but guests kept coming until we had a respectable crowd of about 20. In the beginning I took pictures of everyone with their dishes, but it got too hectic. My apologies if your dish isn't here; if it wasn't meaty, I definitely ate it and loved it. (For example, Sasha's mac & cheese in cupcake foil and Margaux's mega dip above.)


Kari used her connections at Rascal's in Gardena to bring its Chinese chicken salad, which the Hawaiian joint is well known for. It had multiple components that had to be assembled at the table for maximum freshness. Eric couldn't wait.


Pryor made his famous potatoes. The tastiest parts were the slightly burned pieces on the bottom, which I got a lot of.


I was totally fooled into thinking Big Michelle made her Korean veggie dumplings! What was I thinking? Who cares? They were great!


Small Michelle and her plus-one, Tom, eat homemade pizza or calzone practically every night, so I knew their contribution was going to be quite good.


Jordan made two types of pie--custard and pecan. Awesome. And don't forget the "GR" pie way at the top of the post, which was stuffed with fresh apples and cranberries. That's all Katie. I have enough pictures of her with food in my blog, though.


Aaron's wet fudge. 'Nuff said!

Cake eaters

If you call a Minnesotan a cake eater, he or she will kick your ass. Call me one, and I'm happy. This one is from Red Ribbon. It's a chocolate mocha concoction, which usually spells "grown up" but this one is like candy, with pockets of caramel and little toffee crunchies inside. Yes, it's a Filipino bakery. No, there's no ham in there.


The occasion? My mom's birthday. Happy birthday mom! When there, she gave us a couple copies of last week's GR article in The Register, which she got from neighbors. She also received a phone call from an old friend who read it. Cool, huh?


We also attended a baby shower for our friends John and Grace. Another great reason to eat cake.


At the party, we saw our mutual friend, Daniel. He goes back with GR a loooong time, and it turns out that we're practically neighbors. You'd think we'd bump into each other out on the east side. Nope. But he's a master at peek-a-boo, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Sawtelle Shooting

Suspect Fatally Shot During Battle With Officer

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― A suspected serial robber was shot to death in West Los Angeles on Friday during a gunbattle with a police officer, authorities said.

The shooting occurred around 2:15 a.m. on Sawtelle Boulevard between West Olympic and Santa Monica boulevards when a robbery suspect stopped his car -- a light-colored sedan -- in the middle of the street and pointed a handgun at an officer who was following him, said Sgt. Craig Brown of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Los Angeles Station.

An exchange of gunfire ensued, and the man was fatally wounded, he said. The officer was not hurt.

The identity of the deceased man was not immediately released.

The incident began when an officer began following a car that matched the description of a vehicle involved in several robberies over the past few weeks in Culver City and in areas patrolled by the LAPD's Pacific and West Los Angeles stations, Brown said.

All Power to REDCAT

A series of films about the Black Panther Party are showing at REDCAT next week. Off The Pigs, Repression, and The Murder of Fred Hampton are time capsules of the late '60s and early '70s that show on Thursday, January 10. Then come more recent overviews of the movement, including Lee Lew-Lee's All Power To The People. There was a time when our filmmaker friend sold VHS tapes of his 1997 documentary, but now it's nearly impossible to find. Go back to GR10 for the interview if you need a refresher on the man, his movie, or his history--which is still being written.

Snoopy New Year!

Wendy received some waffle mix and syrup from an old roommate. So I had no choice but to unearth my good ol' Snoopy waffle iron.


We had apple-cinnamon and blueberry flavored mixes--not the type where you just add water, but stuff that needed butter and eggs.


Happiness is... awesome family, friends, work--sometimes all mixed together--and promise for an action-packed, momentous 2008.